The Pennsylvania Republican State Committee will hold its annual winter meeting this Saturday, February 5, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the Wyndham Lancaster Resort and Convention Center. But with a myriad of candidates battling for coveted endorsements, is it possible for the committee to reach a majority decision?
The Republican State Committee is responsible for the general supervision, regulation and direction of the Republican Party of the Commonwealth.
In 2018, the State Committee endorsed three candidates – Scott Wagner (governor), Lou Barletta (U.S. Senate) and Jeff Bartos (lieutenant governor).
However, in 2022, with all three seats open due to term limits or retirements, the number of GOP candidates is staggering.
Governor (15): Lou Barletta, Shawn Berger, Guy Ciarrocchi, Jake Corman, Joe Gale, Charlie Gerow, Melissa Hart, Scott Martin, Doug Mastriano, Jason Richey, Bill McSwain, Jason Monn, John Ventre, Dave White, Nche Zama.
Lt. Governor (12): John Brown, Jerry Carnicella, Jeff Coleman, Teddy Daniels, Carrie Lewis Delrosso, Russ Diamond, Chris Frye, Angela Grant, James Jones, Rick Saccone, Clarice Schillinger, Jen Gilliland Vanasdale.
U.S. Senate (14): Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, Israel Cruz, Sean Gale, James Hayes, Robert Jeffries, David McCormick, Mehmet Oz, Martin Rosenfeld, Carla Sands, Craig Snyder, Everett Stern, Joseph Vodvarka, David Xu.
Note: Listed as candidates by the Federal Election Commission
“I’m fascinated by the GOP committee decision,” said Chris Borick, professor of political science and director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. “There is certainly some interest in elevating candidates that can be strong general election options, but the divisions within the GOP are significant and may undermine enough support for endorsements. It’s going to be very interesting to see what emerges.”
According to the Committee’s bylaws, in order to receive the endorsement, a candidate for office must receive a majority (not a plurality) of the total votes cast in person or by proxy. Any abstentions or votes announced “present” will be counted towards the total for which the majority must be obtained.
In addition, the Chair shall have the sole authority in any successive rounds of balloting to remove the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes in the prior round from further consideration.
Highlights of the winter meeting include:
Friday, February 4
3:00 – Lieutenant Governor forum
7:00 – Lincoln Day dinner and gubernatorial debate
Saturday, January 29
9:30 – State Committee Meeting
14 Responses
You would be a fool to even consider Dr. Zama. Do not let this con man to continue spewing his lies and bogus story to the great state of PA. His story is inclusion with his reality.
GOP vote to delete Rona McDaniel as National Chairperson. Then drop Coreman from the party. Doug Mastriano for Govenor!
AUDIT THE 2020 ELECTION!!!!
The PAGOP should vote to “recommend” three candidates instead of one endorsement. This will help winnow the field giving primary voters more of a say. With 15 candidates, a strategy would be to get 15% of the vote to win a primary. Now votes outside of the southeast no longer matter.
I heard Teddy Daniels got bit by a dog in Montrose
I had to apologize
Ok, So we read the old chestnut “let the voters decide not the Party diehards”. Of course, in political science class that sounds wonderful but one has to go beyond the surface here. The voters of course have the final say but the Dem or Rep Party endorsement is huge. It gives you an idea of what kind of support a candidate has and where this election is heading. For example, if Fetterman fails to resonate with the lifer Dem worker at an endorsement meeting and is beaten by 100 votes by a Congressman from the western end of the state, that should tell you Fetterman is not connecting beyond his Progressive base. That is a bad sign. Very bad for the Fall if he gets the Demo nod. If the R’s duck the endorsement process, they look like they want to keep things out of view. Not good.
They should vote for the honorable Tim Murphy.
The former soap opera actress married into money. The ambassadorship was a cake job given to her because of her donations, which is common. Oh and she hasn’t lived in PA for decades.
Let the voters decide without influence from a party endorsement
Carla Sands is clearly the best candidate for Senate. Herservice as ambassador to Denmark gives her foreign policy experience. Also, she is a prodigious fundraiser, an important qualification in a year when the Democrats will be spending several million to try to pick up the seat.
lol. The only reason anyone has even heard of her is because of whom she married. The ambassadorship was a gift for political contributions.
Did Oz serve in the Turkish army for an Islamic dictator? I served in the US army for 30 years. David Xu for US senate from PA
Oh so many inferior candidates. Not a decent person among them. GOP reeks with LOSERS.
No, no check out the Redneck guy. I think his name is Xu.